


Sing Me to Sleep

by hyacinth (Lexa_Alycia)



Series: Face the Music [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comedy, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Post-Season/Series 01, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Skarscha, now with art in chapter two, romcom, skara rights, why is no one writing about these two fools
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29614707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexa_Alycia/pseuds/hyacinth
Summary: Skara was proud of her magic, and the skills she had honed over years of hard work. She forged her own path, confident in her abilities to take on whatever the Boiling Isles threw at her next - until now.“The midterm will count as 25% of your grade. Your task is to write a love song, and it will be due the day of St. Valenswine."
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Boscha/Skara (The Owl House)
Series: Face the Music [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175834
Comments: 89
Kudos: 127





	1. Strain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tripower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tripower/gifts).



> Skarscha has taken over my life, and I'm dragging all my fic writing friends down with me. Shoutout to Tripower for helping me develop this fic idea! You're the best and I hope you enjoy the story :))
> 
> Also, many kudos to EleenaDume for giving me the idea of Skara having a bunch of siblings, TheFoolsYouSee for the holiday name, and to AtticusKaine for coming up with a solid nickname and last name for our fave bard. Thanks as always to Theatrical72 for beta reading.

Skara Jubal was something of a bard track prodigy. 

While she specialized in music and the performing arts, that was just the tip of the ribcage. She could write provocative literary critiques, paint breathtaking landscapes, and throw together jaw dropping outfits that never failed to make a fashion statement.

She was at the top of her track, but not out of sheer talent, as her peers were led to believe. 

No, Skara was all passion. 

She had drive. Determination. She put her all into perfecting her bard magic and technique, when she wasn’t busy during grudgby season, or taking care of her younger siblings. 

Bard magic wasn’t the most coveted of the nine covens, but it was still highly respected among the upper classes of the Boiling Isles. Bard students graduated from school to become renowned performers, sought after philosophers, respected historians, and skilled artists. And the bard coven collaborated heavily with all of the covens, primarily for record keeping and research studies, as such their abilities were widely valued.

Skara was proud of her magic, and the skills she had honed over years of hard work. 

Whenever she was faced with a new challenge, she would face it head on. She forged her own path, confident in her abilities to take on whatever the Boiling Isles threw at her next. 

Until now.

“The midterm will count as 25% of your grade,” Mr. Beathooven declared as he paced back and forth at the front of the classroom, his hooves clopping loudly against the tiled floor. “Your task is to write a love song, and it will be due the day of St. Valenswine.” 

Skara watched the centaur prattle on about the assignment, stressing the importance of being able to write music from all genres in order to become a fully-fledged bard. Normally Skara would listen attentively to her teachers, but all she could feel was a rising sense of dread at the task that loomed ahead of her. 

“Love is a universal feeling, whether it be familial, platonic or romantic. All witches experience it at some point or another.” Mr. Beathooven crossed his arms as he came to a halt in front of a student who had dozed off. “I trust that all of you will be able to produce something worthwhile, so long as you draw from your lived experiences. However, with the upcoming holiday, I will be expecting a love song with romantic themes.”

He slapped his palm against the table, and it sent a shockwave through the room. The student, Ludwig, let out a loud snort as he shot up out of his seat, eyes wide and hair mussed. Had Skara not been devolving into a state of panic, she would have laughed along with her peers as Ludwig wiped the drool stuck to his cheek and mumbled an apology.

“Now, are there any questions?” Mr. Beathooven asked, his tail swishing lazily through the air.

A few hands shot up in the air, but all Skara could do was stare blankly at her notes spread neatly across her desk, her grip on her quill tightening ever so slightly as her mind raced a million miles per minute.

_ How am I supposed to write a love song if I’ve never been in love? _

When it came to music, she drew on her emotions to channel feelings into her songwriting and playing. It was something that felt natural to her, and that she felt was necessary so that when she performed it was authentic and real.

Skara wanted to bring her best to the table, not only for herself, but to show her parents that she was someone they could be proud of. That all their effort in working their way up the social ladder paid off, and that they didn’t have to worry about her. They already placed so much trust in her, as she consistently watched over her siblings since they worked long hours. 

Failing this assignment would be like returning to square one. 

Or at least, it’d certainly feel like it.

The bell screamed, snapping Skara out of her downward spiral of thoughts. 

“I expect your song lyrics on my desk first thing Friday morning. And I will not be taking any late submissions.” Mr. Beathooven directed a pointed look at Ludwig, who avoided his gaze in favor of scrambling out of class.

Skara sighed and gathered her things, trying to push thoughts of the assignment to the back of her mind, at least for now. She had grudgby practice after school. Even though their last game had been weeks ago, the players had to stay in shape during the offseason. She trudged through the hallways, making her way to the locker rooms at the other side of the school.

Along the way, she nodded and waved at her friends she passed by in the hallways. Normally she would have stopped to exchange pleasantries, or made plans to hang out later, but she couldn’t be late to practice again.

Last time, Boscha nearly blew a gasket. The alchemist had been slightly irritated when Skara walked onto the grudgby pitch 10 minutes late, but her attitude took a plunge when Skara offhandedly mentioned she had been pulled aside by Chadley, who asked her a few questions about homework for their shared History of Magic class.

Boscha scowled, turned away, and called gruffly over her shoulder.

“Three extra laps around the track.”

And of course, since she was captain of the team, Skara couldn’t even protest when Amelia rolled up five minutes later and Boscha didn’t even bat an eye in the plant witch’s direction.

After practice, Skara tried to talk to Boscha, only to be brushed off.

She didn’t get what her friend’s deal was. She knew Boscha disliked Chadley, but she didn’t have the faintest idea as to why. Boscha had seemed neutral towards the witch, but after Grom her friend’s mood toward the beastkeeper had inexplicably soured.

Sure, Boscha wasn’t the friendliest witch when it came to those outside of their main social circle. 

Okay, scratch that.

Boscha wasn’t the friendliest witch, period.

But couldn’t she extend an ounce of courtesy towards a friend of her best friend? 

(Yes, friend. Skara and Chadley had decided to stay friends after Grom night.)

Skara rounded the corner of the hallway, and pushed open the doors of the locker room. Amelia waved to her from the bench she was sitting on, rifling through her bag for her kit. Boscha was already dressed in her practice gear, leaning against the lockers.

Skara flashed her a strained smile, the bard midterm still looming in the back of her mind. Boscha’s eyes narrowed momentarily, but then she nodded at her and straightened her posture, clearing her throat loudly. As she did, the other team members fell silent as their eyes were drawn to her.

“Be on the pitch in five.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Amelia saluted her enthusiastically as the others moved around the room.

Boscha gave her a disgruntled look.

“Shut up.”

With that, Boscha exited the locker room, no doubt to set up the field in preparation for practice. Amelia pouted and slunked back to her locker, and Cat gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Well, it could’ve been worse.”

Amelia nodded, and ran a hand through her hair.

“Yeah, at least she didn’t lob a fireball at me this time.”

\---- ---- ----

Skara shifted on her feet, tapping her foot impatiently against the ground as she waited in line to practice her penalty kicks. She felt jittery, filled to the brim with energy, which was ironic since she barely got any sleep last night. Her little brother, Apollo, had woken her up in the middle of the night with another nightmare. After helping the five-year old fall back asleep, she had collapsed onto her bed and passed out around 4:20AM. 

She couldn’t wait to run home and lock herself in her room to begin jotting down ideas for the midterm. Skara wasn’t excited by the prospect of writing the song. No, the thought of it only filled her with anxiety. So to lessen the weight she felt on her shoulders, she decided to brainstorm ideas as she waited her turn.

_ Should I ask mom and dad what it was like when they met? _

Skara immediately dismissed the idea. Her mom wouldn’t mind, and would probably go on a tangent about how romantic it had been. Her father on the other hand would scold her, and insist she figure it out on her own. And she couldn’t only ask her mom, because her mother would surely tell her father about the exchange.

Skara’s parents weren’t strict, per say. But they did have expectations for her, especially her father, who wanted her to become an accomplished bard in her own right.

Mr. Beathooven had insisted it be a romantic love song, so Skara couldn’t even write about her siblings. Sure, they were up to no good most of the time, and drove her up the wall some days, but she loved them all the same.

She contemplated writing about one of her past crushes, but tossed the idea right away. Writing about a passing crush she’d had on someone felt almost too juvenile. Which was ironic, since that was exactly what she was. Maybe-

“Skara!”

She snapped her head up, only to see a flaming grudgby ball hurtling towards her face. Her feet were rooted to the spot, and she felt unable to jump out of the way. Skara closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, drawing a quick spell circle in hopes that she’d be fast enough to avoid getting burned.

_ SMACK! _

She blinked her eyes open, confused at the lack of stinging pain spreading across her face, and saw Boscha standing in front of her, palm in the air, facing where the ball had come from. Skara glanced down and noticed the grudgby ball lying at her feet. Boscha turned around with a scowl, lowering her hand and clenching it into a fist.

“What the fuck, Skara?”

“Uhh...”

Boscha crossed her arms, brows furrowing as Skara gave her a sheepish smile.

“My bad..?” Skara rubbed the back of her neck, feeling scrutinized under Boscha’s less than enthused expression.

Boscha huffed and rolled her eyes, turning away.

“Pay attention, or I’m benching you next game.”

Skara gave her a disbelieving look.

“But we’re in the off-season?”

Boscha didn’t respond, choosing to storm broodily away, back towards the goal post. 

Skara would’ve felt more irritated about Boscha’s somewhat childish reaction, but she remembered how much grudgby meant to her friend, and why she took the sport so seriously. So, she resolved to get her head back in the game, and put aside thoughts of the midterm, at least for now.

\---- ---- ----

Skara collapsed onto her bed, letting out a muffled groan into her pillow.

She was exhausted. Her muscles were sore from grudgby practice, and her mind was fried from thinking of ideas for her midterm. All she wanted to do was take a nap until dinnertime, but the Titan had other plans.

“Skar?”

Skara lifted her head from her bed, rubbing her tired eyes to see her sister Calliope standing by the door. The nine-year old was holding parchment and a quill, shifting back and forth on her feet. 

“What’s up, Callie?” Skara asked, pushing herself upright. 

“Can... Can you help me with my homework again?” Calliope asked tentatively.

Skara felt a smile form on her lips and patted the spot next to her. 

“Of course.”

Calliope smiled and joined her on the bed, kicking her feet as she smoothed over the parchment in her hands. Skara leaned over her shoulder and hummed as she took in the scratchy handwriting of runes scattered across the page.

“I’m having trouble translating these runes into the Common Tongue,” Calliope said with a frown. “They all look the same! I don’t remember how to tell them apart!”

Skara rested a hand on her sister’s knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“I had the same problem when I was learning them too.”

Calliope looked up at her, starstruck.

“Really? But you’re so good at everything!”

Skara let out a dry laugh at that.

“Eh, not really.” She took the parchment and quill from her sister and tapped the end of the pen to the paper. “Anyway, here’s what you can do...” 

\---- ---- ----

_ KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK _

“Skara! You ready to go?”

Skara jolted awake at the sound of Boscha’s voice, nearly falling out of her chair. She took off her reading glasses, setting them on her desk, and rubbed her eyes.

Another bang on the door.

“We’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry up.” There was a light thump against the door, Boscha was probably leaning on it. “You better not be taking forever to decide what to wear. Just throw on whatever!”

Skara’s eyes widened. 

_ Oh vibrato! _

She was supposed to go to the market with Boscha today - they had made plans for it a few days ago. Boscha needed a new cauldron for her classes, and Skara needed new strings for her guitar, so it worked out.

“Coming!” 

Skara kicked aside the piles of balled up parchment that littered the floor, and reached across her unmade bed for her scroll. Normally she kept her room much tidier, but she had forgotten to clean up in lieu of jotting down potential lyrics for her midterm. As hard as she tried, nothing felt right, so every idea she had so far had been scrapped.

She patted her pockets frantically to make sure she had enough snails on hand to buy what she needed, vanished her scroll, and threw open the door. Boscha nearly fell inside the room, but Skara caught her by the shoulder.

“Hey.”

Boscha met her eyes for a moment, and then glanced away. She took a step back and propped a hand on her hip.

“About damn time.”

“Sorry about that.” Skara leaned against the doorframe. “I got caught up with something.”

Boscha looked over Skara’s shoulder into her room and frowned.

“Clearly.” She raised an eyebrow. “It looks like a gorenado ripped through your room.”

Skara let out an uneasy laugh and shut the door behind her.

“Yeah... I’ve been having trouble with my midterm,” she admitted as she started down the hallway, Boscha falling into step beside her. “We have to write a song and it’s been so difficult because I can’t come up with anything for it.”

Boscha quirked a brow.

“Isn’t songwriting your thing?”

“Well yeah.” Skara tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “But this time it’s a little... different.”

“What do you mean?” Boscha asked as she opened the front door, and Skara followed her outside, closing it behind her. “I’ve seen you when you get in the ‘zone’ - you write like clockwork.”

“It’s just...” Skara sighed. “It’s a love song and I’ve never been in love so I don’t know what to write.”

Boscha stumbled on her feet, and Skara caught her by the arm.

“You alright?” she asked.

Boscha brushed her off, avoiding her gaze.

“I’m fine!” Her voice came out pitch high pitched, and she immediately cleared her throat. “So. Can’t you just make something up?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do!” Skara groaned. “But I can’t! I always draw on my emotions for my pieces but obviously I can’t rely on that now.”

Boscha hummed.

“Don’t sweat it too much. I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” And then, she stopped in her tracks, eyes widening. “Oh my Titan, are those-?”

Skara redirected her attention to where Boscha was looking and gasped.

“I thought the vendor was arrested by the Emperor’s Coven?” She shook her head. “Y’know what, who cares? LET’S GO!”

Skara took off towards the food stand, with Boscha hot on her tail.

\---- ---- ----

There were only a few days left until the midterm was due, and Skara had nothing to show for how much she’d been agonizing over the assignment over the past week. To make matters worse, she was running low on sleep. Not only did she stay up late every night to hammer out potential song ideas, but her siblings constantly barged into her room asking for help, whether it be homework related or having to make dinner again since their parents always worked late.

  
  


Was it possible to get an extension for the assignment? She had never asked for one before, but surely Mr. Beathooven would grant her one, right? She always turned in her work on time, raised her hand to answer questions during class time, and did the extra credit work. 

“Right, Skara?”

She also never failed to support her trackmates when they needed help. And she didn’t mind helping people, yet sometimes she couldn’t help but feel taken advantage of. It was hard for her to say no to others, especially when they were having trouble with something. But always having to be there for everyone else, whether it be her peers or family, was nothing short of draining.

“Pipes?”

Normally she was able to manage all her responsibilities fine, but the added stress of the midterm was making matters worse than ever before. She was afraid that she might fail the assignment - which had never happened before! How would her parents react?

“Hey!” Boscha snapped her fingers in front of her, jarring her out of her thoughts. “What’s up with you? Were you even listening?”

Skara shook her head, trying to clear the fog that clouded her mind.

“No, sorry.” She pushed her lunch tray away from her, food untouched. “I was just thinking about the midterm.”

“Again?” Boscha leaned back in her seat. “I thought you figured it out days ago.”

Skara shook her head.

“Ugh, I wish.” She rubbed her temple. “If I don’t think of something soon I’m screwed.”

Boscha frowned, and opened her mouth to say something else when Amelia and Cat reached their table.

“Hey witches!” Amelia chirped as she slid in the booth next to Skara while Cat sat down next to Boscha. “What’s bubbling in the cauldron today?”

“Titan spare me,” Boscha groaned. “What did I say about the jokes?”

Amelia deflated.

“They’re charming, but never to be used on school premises.” 

“There we go.”

Skara raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t mind when I make jokes though.”

Boscha waved a hand noncommittally, digging back into her food.

“That’s different.”

“Sounds like a double standard to me,” Amelia grumbled.

Boscha kicked her under the table, and the plant witch didn’t say another word after that.

\---- ---- ----

Skara cursed under her breath as she rushed across the school to the Abomination hall. She was running late to meet her siblings and walk home together. She had been held up by a trackmate, Melody, who pulled her aside after class and wouldn’t shut up about the new scroll model that had just been released. Normally she could humor the witch’s incessant need to monologue about herself, but today was different. 

Her parents had invited a few coven members for dinner. St. Valenswine was around the corner, and plans had to be finalized for the annual festival that took place in the heart of Bonesborough. Responsibilities were divided between all the covens. Beastkeepers were tasked with slaughtering wild pigs, while the plant coven harvested the fruits and vegetables needed for the feast. The construction and abomination covens prepared the proper structures and handled most of the manual labor needed to set up the event. 

Illusionists and bards organized the decorations and festivities respectively. Meanwhile, the potions and healing covens were monitoring the use of illegal love potions, which increased during this time of year as people felt pressure to find a date by the Night of the Lover’s Star. Oracle witches sat back and made sure everything went well from an organizational standpoint.

Her parents wanted their children home right away, so that they could prepare for dinner. And if Skara was late, or at least later than she already was, her father would give her a long winded speech about responsibility, and the importance of keeping up appearances for a ‘witch of her standing.’ 

She reached Thalia’s locker in record time, but her sister was nowhere to be found. Neither were Calliope or Apollo, which was troubling since she didn’t have time to search the school to find them. Skara pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to settle her nerves, which were at an all time high. Having to attend dinner tonight would no doubt eat away a substantial portion of the evening, leaving her with little time to work on her midterm project, which she  _ still _ hadn’t made any progress on.

She began pacing back and forth in front of Thalia’s locker, deliberating on what would be the best course of action to take next, when the twelve-year old herself rounded the corner, pulling their other siblings along with her. Skara nearly collapsed in relief, but that would be far too time consuming. 

“There you are!” Skara strolled over to her siblings. “I was about to go looking for you. We need to get going, now.”

Thalia leveled Skara with a flat look.

“We know. We were waiting for fifteen minutes.” She crossed her arms. “I had to stop Apollo from scaling the maintenance ladder in the auditorium, and drag Callie out of the library. You’re welcome.”

Skara rolled her eyes. Her sister could be so melodramatic sometimes.

“How can I ever repay you?” she quipped, to which Thalia huffed and Callie snorted. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Skara started down the hallway, but Apollo tugged on her sleeve before she could get too far. He lifted his arms in the air and made grabby motions with his hands. Skara smiled down at him.

“Up up?”

He nodded enthusiastically, and giggled as Skara picked him up. He rested his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her neck, snuggling close. Out of habit, she began humming a tune as she walked, a lullaby her mother had taught her years ago. 

Singing normally relaxed her, but with the midterm due so soon, she was only reminded of the daunting task that lay ahead. And for once, she didn’t know how to go about completing it.

Apollo fell asleep with a content smile on his face, mirroring the tired one Skara wore.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To see character icons of the Jubal kids click [here](https://twitter.com/godless_glasses/status/1366222913196744719?s=20)!
> 
> Playlist for this series [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dIT9T5dkpuf3FBiD1idsu?si=IZHMI7COSqKgH3O7QF9czw). Story title based off of the song [Asleep](https://open.spotify.com/track/7LZgdL0MxiElfaKZbuuE4l?si=bcB1klaESQiD98o2fxUOAw) by The Smiths.
> 
> Check out my other toh works [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexa_Alycia/works). Follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/godless_glasses), [tumblr](https://lexa-alycia.tumblr.com), [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/godless.glasses/)


	2. Euphony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boscha is a good friend (surprising, I know).

“Where the hell is she?” Boscha muttered to herself as she searched the halls for her friend. 

Skara hadn’t shown up during lunch today, which was out of character for the bard. She was extremely extroverted and chatty, always ready to launch into some conversation about the school band, the latest Rolling Bones album, or fashion trend. Boscha would’ve been fine hanging out with Cat and Amelia, but Amelia had tried out yet another ridiculous joke on her. 

As if anything that came out of her mouth was even remotely funny. Even Bump had a better sense of humor than the plant witch, and that was saying something because he recently discovered ‘dad jokes’ from Luz, the human. Which provided another reason for Boscha to dislike the human, who was far too peppy and chipper for her to ever take seriously. 

After hexing Amelia’s apple blood (that would show her), the alchemist left the cafeteria before she was forced to smack the witch upside the head to knock some sense into her. Boscha made her way towards the bard track hallway, figuring that Skara was wrapped up doing homework ahead of time. That suited her just fine. She just needed a place to scroll on Pennstagram where she wasn’t by herself. Not that she minded being on her own. But being around her friend always made her feel better, though she’d never admit it.

Boscha rounded a corner and noticed one of the doors for the bard classrooms was cracked open. She made a beeline for it and poked her head inside. Just as she had suspected, Skara was draped over a desk, quill scratching rapidly against parchment. There were several pieces of crumpled paper gathered on the floor around her friend, along with some sheets splayed messily across the desk. 

“Finally found a muse, have you?”

Just because Amelia lacked the skills to crack decent jokes didn’t mean Boscha couldn’t make any. Not everyone was gifted with a fantastic sense of humor, and this was something she was reminded of everytime Amelia opened her mouth. Hopefully the hex would shut her up. Otherwise, she’d have to resort to more drastic measures.

Skara didn’t even look up from where she was writing. 

Boscha sighed and shut the door behind her. She walked over to her friend and sat down next to her, peering over the bard’s shoulder to see what she was jotting down. She recognized the formatting of the lines as lyrics, and her eyes scanned the page quickly to read what Skara had written so far. Boscha couldn’t help but snort once she was able to make sense of the words, jarring Skara out of her ‘music mode’ as she liked to call it.

“Is this really the best you could come up with?”

Skara gave her a wounded look.

“I thought it was... okay.”

Boscha picked up the paper and held it in front of her.

“You’re right. It’s okay,” she stated flatly. “If you’re going for something unoriginal and boring. And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t know shit about bard magic.”

Skara’s eyes scanned over the lyrics written at the top of the page.

_You know you love me, I know you care_

_Just shout whenever, And I'll be there_

_You are my love, You are my heart_

_And we will never ever-ever be apart._

She cringed. Boscha was right. Not only did the song sound horribly cheesy, but it wasn’t even _her_. It didn’t resonate with her at all. It wasn’t something she could read at the end of the day and be proud of. She grumbled to herself, making grabby hands for the parchment. Boscha handed it over, only for Skara to ball it up and toss it over her shoulder.

Skara reached for her quill to begin writing again, but Boscha snatched it off the desk and snapped it in half.

“Hey! That was my favorite one!”

Boscha rolled her eyes.

“There’ll be others.” She set the broken pieces on the table and faced her friend. Boscha noticed the heavy bags under Skara’s eyes, and the strands of curly hair that had fallen out of her usual tight ponytail. “You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks.” Skara pressed her lips together and leaned back into her seat. “Between family stuff, grudgby practice, and this stupid midterm I haven’t gotten any sleep this week.”

“Well, why don’t you sleep now?”

Skara looked at Boscha as if she’d just asked her to kiss a giraffe.

“I can’t,” she said, eyes falling back to the desk littered with parchment paper. “I have to get something done today. St. Valenswine is in two days, and tomorrow I’ll be watching my siblings all day since my parents will be making sure everything is ready for the festival.”

Boscha didn’t bother to mince her next words. Skara needed to be told the truth.

“You’re clearly incapable of writing anything at the moment.”

“Ha. Ha,” Skara deadpanned.

“I’m serious.” Boscha leaned forward. “Your music is usually amazing, but that was horseshit.”

“You think my music’s amazing?” Skara grinned as Boscha turned red. 

“That’s not the point!” Boscha deflected. “You need to sleep, and try again later.”

“Aww.” Skara gave her a cheeky smile. “You do care!”

Boscha made to get up and leave the room before she could expose herself further, but Skara caught her by the hand before she could.

“Wait.” Skara squeezed her hand. “Please don’t go.” 

Boscha looked at where Skara was holding onto her, and then she met her gaze. Her friend looked so... tired. She knew Skara, and the bard never asked for anything. Skara was always overextending herself for the sake of others, and Boscha would be lying if that didn’t bother her. 

So despite the heat she felt in her cheeks at holding hands with Skara (the last time they’d done anything of the sort had been when they were kids) and the desire to run far, far away, she sat back down.

“Fine. But you need to sleep.”

Skara nodded, and laid her head back down on the desk, resting it on her other arm. The room was silent for a few minutes, and right when Boscha was going to summon her scroll to open Penstagram and think about anything other than the fact that she was still holding hands with Skara, her friend let out a frustrated groan. 

“I can’t relax at all!” She lifted her head to look at Boscha, an annoyed scowl on her face. “The only thing that I can think about this Titan forsaken midterm.”

Boscha didn’t say anything for a moment. She chewed her lip, thinking, and recalled a memory from years ago.

_Should I...?_

She bit her lip.

_No. No fucking way. It’s not worth it._

But the longer she looked at Skara, taking in how exhausted she looked, the more her resolve withered and died.

\---- ---- ----

_“Boscha, I dunno about this...”_

_“We’ll be fine! Quit being such a worry-wart.” Boscha grinned as she settled down on the bed next to her friend, a crystal ball placed in front of them. “All those scary stories about giraffes are just a way for grownups to keep us in line. It’s all fake.”_

_“If you say so...”_

_Boscha pulled out the movie disk, the title “Long Necks 2: In the Trees” written in fineprint. She slipped it into the compartment on the bottom of the crystal ball, and drew a spell circle to start the movie. The crystal ball hummed with energy, and projected a screen onto the wall across from the witches. An ad made by the oracle coven appeared on the screen._

_“Crystal Vision: bring the excitement of motion pictures into your life!”_

_Boscha leaned back into the headboard of the bed, hands behind her head. Skara on the other hand, was terrified. She was sitting ramrod straight, stiff as a board, as the movie began playing._

_"You can't see them, but they can see you," the narrator drawled ominously._

_Skara had no idea what to expect, but giraffes disguising them as trees to eat unsuspecting witches and demons was not it. Admittedly, she was scared to watch the movie at first. But as it played out in front of her she couldn’t help but find it completely absurd. The special effects were subpar, and the acting fell flat. So she couldn’t bring herself to sympathize with the protagonists as they were slaughtered one by one by their mammalian foes._

_The giraffes themselves were certainly unnatural creatures. With their long, winding necks and legs, and beady black eyes that peered into your soul. But no matter how gruesomely they acted on screen, Skara couldn’t find it in herself to be scared. She had faced far more terrifying things in life - like the time she lost track of Thalia in the woods on the walk home, or when the Nowhere Demon possessed all the instruments in her home and tried to kill her entire family._

_So by the time the movie finally rolled to a stop, she had relaxed. She even managed to laugh a few times during the movie at the jump scares - a cheap tactic to try and frighten viewers. Skara shut off the crystal ball and turned to Boscha, wearing an easy smile on her face._

_“Huh. You were right, that wasn’t so bad after all.”_

_Boscha didn’t respond. She was completely catatonic, her eyes glazed over and facing the blank wall as if she were still watching the movie._

_“Bosch?”_

_Skara prodded her friend on the shoulder, but the witchling continued to be unresponsive._

_“Hellooo? Isles to Boscha?”_

_Skara scooted in front of her friend, but Boscha didn’t even blink when she waved her hand in front of her face. Skara’s brows furrowed with worry, and she leaned forward, cupping her friend’s cheeks in her hands._

_“Are you okay?”_

_For whatever reason, that seemed to do the trick and snap Boscha out of her stupor, as she sprang back away from Skara and fell off the bed with a thump._

_“Ow.”_

_Skara leaned over and saw Boscha rubbing her arm, wincing as she tried to push herself onto her feet. She gasped and tumbled off of the bed, helping her friend stand upright._

_“I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” Skara looked over Boscha and patted her shoulder and arms, checking for any broken bones. “Do you need to go to the Healers? My mom should be able to take us, I think-”_

_“Skara I’m fine,” Boscha interrupted. “I was just, uh, stretching.”_

_“You fell off the bed.”_

_“I’m fine,” Boscha repeated, though she clearly wasn’t. “Let’s just go to sleep.”_

_Skara frowned, but decided not to push her friend. Boscha could be awfully stubborn, and trying to get details she wasn’t willing to share out of her would be like prodding a feral nightsteed with a stick._

_After they readied themselves for bed, Skara slipped into her bed while Boscha took the air mattress on the floor. Boscha had barely spoken a word after the movie, and Skara regretted not trying harder earlier to stop her from watching it._

_“Goodnight.”_

_Boscha didn’t respond. Instead, she turned away and pulled the sheets over her head. Skara frowned, hoping her friend would be in a better mood in the morning. She stared up at the ceiling, and then closed her eyes. It only took a few minutes for her to drift off into sleep._

_Three hours later, Skara was stirred awake. For a moment, she was a bit confused. Normally she slept through the night without any trouble, so something had to have woken her up. Then, she heard it._

_The sound of shuddering breaths, and loud sniffles._

_Skara flipped onto her side and saw Boscha, curled up into a ball outside of the bedsheets. She must’ve had a nightmare after watching the movie._

_Moving slowly so as to not startle her friend, Skara peeled back her bedsheets and climbed out of bed. She sat down next to Boscha, but her friend didn’t acknowledge her presence. Skara folded her hands in her lap and wracked her brain, trying to figure out how she could go about helping her friend._

_Her eyes bounced around the room, desperate for ideas, and they landed on the musical notes painted above the headboard of her bed. An idea came to her, and Skara reached out to set a hand on Boscha’s shoulder._

_“Can’t sleep?”_

_Boscha didn’t verbally respond, but Skara saw her shake her head ever so slightly. She took that as a signal to continue._

_“Whenever I can’t fall asleep, my mom sings me a lullaby... Can I sing it to you?”_

_After a few moments, Boscha nodded. Skara felt relief wash over her and scooted closer to her friend, leaning against her back._

_“Okay. I haven’t practiced singing it yet, so I dunno how good it’ll sound, so here goes nothing.”_

_Skara cleared her throat, and began reciting the lyrics of the lullaby from memory._

_“Goodnight, my angel_

_Time to close your eyes_

_And save these questions for another day”_

_Skara felt Boscha begin to relax under her hand, and felt encouraged to keep going._

_“I think I know what you've been asking me_

_I think you know what I've been trying to say”_

_Skara moved her hand from Boscha’s shoulder and ran her fingers through loose pink strands of hair. Boscha hummed, and her body unwinded slightly._

_“I promised I would never leave you_

_And you should always know_

_Wherever you may go_

_No matter where you are_

_I never will be far away”_

_Skara finished the rest of the song, and when she looked down at her friend again, Boscha’s breathing had evened out and she had finally fallen asleep. She smiled and tugged a blanket over her dozing friend. She sat there for a while, watching her sleep. After some time, Skara felt her eyes drooping and walked back into her bed, her eyes slipping shut the moment her head hit her pillow._

_In the morning Boscha gave her a quick hug, and gruffly told her to “not get used to it”._

_Skara had never felt more content as she watched her friend walk back home with her moms._

\---- ---- ----

“Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

Skara gave Boscha a skeptical look, but decided to humor her friend. She lowered her head back onto her arm and shut her eyes.

“I’m going to try something.” Boscha stared at their entwined hands. “But don’t breathe a word about this to anyone.”

Skara hummed, and then squeezed Boscha’s hand, which did _not_ send tingles up and down her spine.

“Oki-dokey.”

Boscha took a deep breath, psyching herself up for the task that lay ahead. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit she felt nervous as fuck.

_I can’t believe I’m doing this._

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Amity responded to her.

_I can._

Boscha grit her teeth. Amity had caught onto her crush on Skara a while back, and never failed to shoot her knowing looks whenever Boscha opted to conceal her feelings rather than be honest. Now that she thought about it, she found it ironic how Amity was now hiding her blatantly obvious feelings for the human. Boscha smirked to herself.

_Serves her right._

Skara squeezed her hand again.

“Uh, Boscha?”

“Give me a minute!” Boscha griped, wanting to pull her sweaty hand from Skara’s and wipe it on her uniform, but also not wanting to lose contact with her friend. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”

She cleared her throat, and began to sing. Her voice came out steady, and slightly out of tune. But it was her.

_“Goodnight, my angel_

_Now it's time to sleep_

_And still so many things I want to say”_

Skara’s breath hitched as she recognized the lullaby from her childhood. 

“You remembered,” she murmured under her breath.

As badly as she wanted to open her eyes, she didn’t want to dissuade her friend from singing. So she let the words wash over her, smoothing over the stress and worry that had plagued her mind for days.

_“Remember all the songs you sang for me_

_When we went sailing on an emerald bay”_

Boscha’s voice cracked, remembering all the times Skara ran a song by her first, insisting that “You’re my harshest critic, but you’re the most honest one I’ve got. I appreciate that.”

_“And like a boat out on the ocean_

_I'm rocking you to sleep”_

For some reason that she couldn’t quite place, Skara remembered the time Boscha carried her back home after she sprained her ankle trying to catch Ringo (her pet beetle was near and dear to her heart, but damn if he wasn’t a pain in the ass at first). She had fallen asleep on the way back, magic exhausted from trying to attune herself to the bard beetle. Hours later she woke up in bed, confused as to how she got there. It wasn’t until Thalia teased her about being carried home that she remembered what had happened.

_“The water's dark_

_And deep inside this ancient heart_

_You'll always be a part of me”_

Boscha finished the song, throat dry. Skara’s breathing evened out, and the lines between her brows had smoothed over. Once she was certain her friend was asleep, she finally spoke.

“How could I forget when it was you who sang to me? Idiot.”

Boscha carefully slipped her hand from Skara’s grasp, resting her friend’s hand on the table as she finally wiped her hand on her uniform skirt. She felt weird staying and watching Skara sleep, so she decided to go and what happened to Amelia. If she did the hex right, the plant witch would have persimmons growing from her head. 

She rose to her feet, ready to go, but hesitated. Boscha spared one last glance at her friend and noticed her shiver. Bump notoriously kept the air conditioning demons regulating the temperature 55 °F, insisting it was fine because their uniforms had long sleeves. She sighed and slipped off her varsity grudgby jacket, draping it over Skara’s shoulders. Satisfied, she turned and walked out of the classroom.

It was only when the door clicked shut that Skara allowed herself to smile.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by [cloudy](https://www.instagram.com/collide.oscope/)
> 
> Skara and Boscha sing this song in the chapter: [Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)](https://open.spotify.com/track/4cURHmiuYii52BVbhrGbv0?si=TiE29TrzQmKo2joQo31g-w) by Billy Joel
> 
> The cringey song Skara was singing was Baby by Justin Bieber. I will take no criticism on this.
> 
> Feel free to yell at me in the comments.


	3. Discordance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Boscha cannot catch a break to save her life.

The next time Boscha saw Skara, it was during lunch. Her friend was in a noticeably better mood than she’d been the day before. She still had bags under her eyes from losing sleep the past week, but she seemed lighter. Happier. More relaxed. She was talking animatedly to Bo in the lunch line, gesticulating wildly while recounting some exciting story, no doubt. 

And if Boscha’s bile sac swelled when she noticed her friend was still wearing her grudgby jacket well, that was between her and the Titan.

Boscha made a beeline for their usual table. She packed lunch since the cafeteria food was disgusting, and subpar on even the best days. As per usual, Amelia and Cat were already seated. Both greeted her as she sat down, Amelia noticeably not making a poorly timed joke. It seemed that the hex from yesterday had worked as planned.

They fell into a conversation about an upcoming field trip to the Museum of Demonology, and Cat suggested going out to the market afterward, to which they all readily agreed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Boscha spotted Amity’s face turning tomato red as L-, no, the human, leaned in close and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She suppressed a snort as she turned away from the pair and dug into her food.

_ A match made in hell. Both of them are too dumb to do anything about their feelings. _

The irony of that thought flew over Boscha’s head as she perked up upon seeing Skara approach their table. She didn’t wave like Amelia and Cat did. No, she had to play things cool especially after how yesterday had gone.

She was ready to nod at Skara and continue eating her lunch, when the bard flashed her the most radiant smile she’d ever seen. Boscha’s fork missed its target and she ended up poking herself in the nose, splattering ghoulash all over her face. 

_ Shit. _

Amelia and Cat were wise enough not to say anything about it, but nothing stopped Skara from sitting down next to Boscha and chuckling at the mess she made for herself.

“You got a little something-”

“I know,” Boscha grumbled, swiping a napkin from the dispenser and cleaning her face. Once she was done, she incinerated it with a twirl of her finger.

“You missed a spot.” Skara tutted and reached over, using her thumb to wipe a spot of cream from the corner of Boscha’s mouth. 

Then, as if it was perfectly normal, the bard licked the cream off her thumb and gave her a thumbs up. 

And Boscha was  _ fine. _

She did not freeze up, turn red, or devolve into a rambling mess.

She was as cool as a cockatrice 

“So, what’s hex and happening?” Skara asked as she turned her attention to Amelia and Cat.

The joke didn’t even register with the alchemist, nor did the accusatory look Amelia gave her when Boscha didn’t respond to the quip. The only thought that was running through her mind was the bright idea of dunking her face into her leftover ghoulash just so Skara could help her clean up again- _ no no no! Don’t go there.  _

She vaguely registered Amelia, Cat, and Skara exchanging conversation as she battled her gay inner demons.

“What do you think, Boscha?”

“Hmm?”

“About getting tickets to go see the Pixies when they tour here in a few months.”

“Oh.” Boscha made a noncommittal sound. “Sounds good to me.”

She took a sip of her appleblood, enjoying how it soothed her dry throat.

“Great!” Skara beamed. “It’s a date!” 

Boscha spit out her drink, the spray landing on an unsuspecting Mattholomule as he walked past. He yelped and turned around, his face contorted in anger, but stopped in his tracks once he noticed who had gotten him covered in appleblood. He paled as Boscha leveled a fierce glare at him, and scurried off without any protest.

“Nice one Boscha!” Amelia raised her hand for a high-five, and Boscha returned it (she could be cruel when she wanted to be, but never cruel enough as to leave someone hanging).

“It wasn’t much.” Boscha played it off with a casual shrug.

“Am I the only one who saw that clearly wasn’t planned?” Cat muttered to herself as Skara changed topics and led the group into another conversation.

\---- ----- ----

“Skara, I’m hungry!” Apollo whined, tugging on her jacket sleeve. 

The witch in question looked up from the song lyrics in front of her, and tilted her head in confusion.

“I gave you some ogre jerky five minutes ago.”

“Yeah, and it was tasty.” Apollo patted his stomach. “But can we eat dinner now? My tummy is growling so loud it’s kind of scary.”

Skara glanced back at her midterm work. She had been going over the lyrics one last time before she had to turn them in tomorrow, and they were probably as good as they were gonna get.

“Alright, I’ll whip up something for us right now.” Skara’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “Want to help?”

Apollo bobbed his head eagerly, practically vibrating with anticipation.

“Yesyesyesyes!” 

Skara stood up, stretching her arms in the air as she suppressed a yawn.

“Alright- ask Thals and Callie if they’re hungry, so I know how much food we should make.”

Apollo gave her an exaggerated salute and made to leave the bedroom, but caught himself on the doorframe and poked his head back around.

“Can we eat gristlethorn ribs today?” He batted his eyelashes in that inexplicably adorable way that would make even the most terrifying eldritch monsters fall to their knees. “Please?”

Skara gave him a fond, if not slightly exasperated smile.

“Sure.”

“YAY!” He whooped as he raced down the hallway, bumping into a few things along the way if the clatter and clang of falling objects was anything to go by.

After turning off the lights with a twirl of a finger, Skara followed him out the door, picking up the knocked over decor Apollo left in his wake. Just as she readjusted a crooked family portrait, a loud crash made her heart leap into her throat.

“I’m okay!” Apollo called out after a moment. “ _ But _ mom’s favorite vase might not be...”

\---- ----- ----

Boscha hated St. Valenswine’s Day.

It was the most pointless, useless holiday in all the demon realm.

She basked in the attention she received during the grudgby season, when her classmates rightfully admired her athletic prowess as she led the Banshees to victory after victory.

But a holiday about love?

Gross.

An entire day of people fawning over their crushes and making goo-goo eyes at them? 

She wanted to gag.

Overblown and mushy love confessions? 

Yeah. Hard pass. 

When she ate breakfast with her moms in the morning, they were all over each other. It was something Boscha was well used to, and while she was secretly glad that their relationship was still going strong after so many years of marriage, seeing them make kissy faces across the table made her want to gouge out all three of her eyes.

So how she found herself making her way towards Skara’s locker before classes began, she could not even begin to puzzle out for herself. She repeated a list well-rehearsed lies to herself as she neared the bard hallway. 

_ I haven’t had trouble sleeping the last two nights because I kept thinking of how nice it felt to hold her hand the other day. Or how cute she looked while sleeping. _

She nodded to herself, feeling adequately reassured. In a daze, Boscha knocked over an unsuspecting oracle track student and didn’t even blink when they called out after her, complaining that they had sprained their ankle. 

_ I’m just here to pick up my jacket... Which I do  _ **_not_ ** _ want her to wear for the rest of the year. _

A high pitched screech broke Boscha out of her denial ridden inner monologue. 

_ “Ohmystars!”  _

Out of curiosity, and the itching desire to lob a fireball at whoever was squealing so they’d shut the fuck up, Boscha turned her head towards the offending sound.

She was greeted with the sight of Prudelphina Phrenemay holding a hand over her mouth as some construction track student extended a booquet of dragontooth violets to her. Prudelphina accepted the proffered gift and touched the petals carefully. As she did, the flowers cooed sweet whispers that gave Boscha chills down her spine.

“You’re boo-tiful!”

“You raise my spirits~”

“Will you be my boo?”

Boscha scrunched up her face in disgust as Prudelphina shrieked in delight and threw her arms around the construction track student.

“Of course I will!”

Wanting to get away from the sickening scene as fast as witchly possible, Boscha rounded the corridor and increased her pace towards Skara’s locker. She made it there in record time, and managed to banish all thoughts of the display from a few minutes before by thinking of how much she was looking forward to seeing her friend.

Which was a very platonic thought to have, thank you very much.

Boscha reached the bard hallway, and her jaw dropped when she saw the locker.

There were val-o’grams, colorful stickers, shiny illusion decor, and red heart cut-outs plastered all over the surface. The locker demon’s mouth was screwed shut, but it was clearly struggling to contain the hordes of love letters that must’ve been stuffed inside. Boscha felt a hot surge of anger wash over her, boiling over the longer she stared at the locker.

Next to herself, Skara was the most popular witch at Hexside. She was amiable and friendly, always ready to strike up a conversation, even with complete strangers. So unlike Boscha, their peers didn’t find her intimidating. 

But the alchemist had never seen anything like this before.

Normally, Skara received an anonymous love letter or two from witches too spineless to confess their feelings to the witch. And the bard always took them in stride, finding them sweet. Boscha had never really cared, because it wasn’t like anything could actually come from them.

Until now.

Boscha wracked her brain, trying to think of what could’ve caused this when she saw a note fall off the locker. She felt her feet moving before she could think, and then she was standing in front of the locker, picking up the note and reading it over.

_ Hey Skara! Your performance at the talent show last month was incredible! Happy St. Valenswine’s Day! -Your Secret Admirer _

Boscha’s eyes scanned over the other notes that covered the locker from head to toe. There were so many that she couldn’t even see the locker itself. All of them read a variation of the same thing - commenting on her friend’s performance in the talent show. 

_ Skara’s always been great, and these broiling witches are only noticing now? _

Anger coursed through her, and she began tearing the decorations off and throwing them to the floor, muttering profanities under her breath. After a harried few minutes, she had finally been able to rid the locker of all holiday themed paraphernalia. And then, she looked down and realized she was standing in a pile of it all. 

Boscha took a step back and drew a spell circle. The paraphernalia erupted on fire, and she watched it burn, the flames flickering in her eyes as a smirk formed at the corner of her mouth.

“What are you doing?”

Boscha jumped, and whipped her head around to see the human and Gus, the former gawking at her as if she had suddenly shed her skin and the latter looking slightly apprehensive.

She did, but only in the wintertime because- wait. Not the point.

Boscha scowled at them before turning back to the blazing fire.

“Burning Skara’s secret admirer stuff,” she replied offhandedly. 

Maybe they would leave her alone once their curiosity was satisfied.

“Wow!” Luz smacked a fist into her palm. “I didn’t know you two were dating!” 

“We’re not,” Boscha growled, not liking being reminded of that particular fact. “Now scram, before I make you.”

“Your antagonistic remarks are really losing their edge,” Gus noted. “Might I recommend drawing inspiration from-”

“No,” Boscha deadpanned.

“Wowza, who spit in your appleblood?” Luz shook her head. “C’mon Gus, let’s go!”

“Wait, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for you?” Gus asked. “I thought you wanted to get rid of all the love letters Amity has stuffed in her locker.”

Luz blushed.

“Gus!” she whined. “That was supposed to be a secret!”

Boscha shook her head, and tried to ignore the two as they bickered. She reached out and tickled the locker demon, not expecting its mouth to yawn open and be toppled over by an avalanche of letters. She poked her head out of the pile, only to see Luz and Gus stifling their giggles.

“If you’re not gonna burn something, leave.”

Luz and Gus exchanged a glance and nodded. They took off down the hallway, only to run into Willow rounding the corner.

“Willow!” Luz grinned. “There you are! Where did you put the letters?”

“Back in Amity’s locker, where they belong.”

“What?” Gus pouted. “I thought we were going to be parsnips in crime!”

“It’s partners in crime,” Luz corrected before shifting gears. “C’mon Willow! It’ll be fun!”

Willow crossed her arms and leveled Luz with a flat look.

“Maybe instead of burning letters you should tell her how you feel.”

Boscha tensed as she heard Willow’s words echo down the hallway. They weren’t meant for her ears, but they resonated with the witchling nonetheless. She looked at the pile of letters she was standing in, and for the first time questioned whether or not she was going about things the right way.

Then she realized it was  _ Willow _ who had made her question her actions, and dismissed the thought immediately. 

What did she know? 

Boscha was a blunt person. She usually never had a problem to tell people exactly what she thought of them. But, Skara was different. They’d been friends for as long as she could remember. The bard was undoubtedly the only person she felt comfortable around.

Telling Skara how she felt would change nothing. In fact, it’d probably only make things worse.

Her friend would reject her, and where would that leave her?

As Boscha brooded, Luz ignored Willow’s sage advice and barrelled ahead, undeterred.

“You can’t stop me if you can’t catch me!” Luz called out as she took off down the hallway.

“Stop!” Willow chastised as she ran after her friend. “This is a bad idea!”

“That just makes it all the more fun!” Gus grinned, and followed Luz around the corner.

Boscha blew a loose strand of hair out of her eyes and rolled her shoulders back, drawing another spell golden circle in the air. Another fire crackled to life, next to the smouldering embers of the first one she’d conjured. She leaned against the wall and watched the letters be consumed by the flames.

Some minutes later, Luz appeared around the corner with Gus in tow. Luz held an illusion bag over her shoulder, panting slightly to catch her breath, and Gus sighed in relief as he slowed his pace.

“Thank the Titan Willow fell for the good ol’ illusion one-two swap.” He looked over his shoulder warily. “Usually she’s able to figure out which one’s the real me.”

“Looks like lady luck is on our side!” Luz smiled as she adjusted her grip on the bag and approached the fire.

“Who’s that?” Gus asked, conjuring a journal and a quill to jot down notes.

“I’ll explain later.” Luz turned away from Gus and faced Boscha. “We brought kindling!”

Boscha grunted and barely spared a glance at them. Once Skara’s letters turned to ashes, she’d leave to get to her first class of the day on time. Any energy spent on the human and her friend would be wasted, and only exacerbate the rising headache she felt behind her eyes. Maybe if she wasn’t in such a sour mood she would’ve threatened them again.

“Woah, she didn’t throw a fireball at us!” Gus whispered to Luz, loud enough for Boscha to hear. “Do you think she’s finally gone soft?”

“Gus!” Luz hissed, elbowing him in the side. “Don’t push it. I can’t get into it with her again, not after I promised Amity no more gallant defenses of friendship and honor.”

“I think she called it meddling, and avoiding needless confrontation.”

“Eh, details.” Luz waved a hand, and then set the bag down on the floor near the fire. 

As Luz began feeding the fire with more letters, Boscha scrolled through Penstagram. Her feed was filled with the usual mind-numbing content, including pictures of cringe-worthy couples posing together, cheesy val-o’grams, and the occasional witch who made a self-deprecating joke about still being single.

Boscha glanced up and saw that the fire had all but obliterated Skara’s letters. The human was still feeding it with Amity’s, but she didn’t care to stick around for that. Just as she turned to leave, a voice rang out from the end of the corridor.

“Luz? Gus? What are you two doing?!”

Boscha grinned as she recognized the voice - Amity was speeding down the hallway, a disappointed looking Willow trailing behind her. This was sure to be good gossip later, so she leaned back against the wall and decided to enjoy the show.

“Oh no!” Gus clapped his hands to his cheeks. “She brought back reinforcements! Abort mission!” He drew a spell circle and summoned a smoke bomb that exploded with a pop.

Boscha coughed, and her eyes watered as the blue smoke reached her.

“Titan broil me,” she muttered to herself, waving away the smoke with her hands. 

When the smoke finally cleared, Gus was nowhere to be found. 

Boscha heard Willow mutter to herself that she’d track him down personally later, and then refocused on her former friend staring at Luz awkwardly. After a nudge from Willow, Amity was spurred forward, and Boscha didn’t miss the way Luz tensed as the green-haired witch approached her.

Willow watched from afar, shifting on her feet as if she was unsure if she should stick around to see what happened next. Boscha on the other hand, held no such qualms.

“Hey Amity! Nothing to see here!” Luz stepped in front of the still burning fire, and pushed the bag of the remaining letters onto it by nudging it with her foot. “I was just... Uh, I was feeling cold, so I started a fire to warm up a bit before school started. Yeah!”

Amity furrowed her eyebrows and she looked from the fire back to Luz wearing a slight frown.

“Luz, you’re a terrible liar.”

“Me? Lie to you?” Luz’s voice cracked. “I- I’d never!” she lied, avoiding eye contact and wringing her hands together.

Amity’s eyes flickered to the bright pink letter Luz clutched in her left hand.

“What’s that?”

Luz glanced down at the letter, and panicked. She shoved it into her mouth, smiling nervously as she began chewing. 

“It’s just a snack!” Luz began hacking and coughing as the paper shredded her throat to ribbons. “Okay, this is harder to eat than I thought it’d be!” 

Amity acted quickly, and slapped Luz’s back hard.

“Luz! Spit it out!”

Luz was forced to comply, lest she meet an early end. The crumpled up letter ended up on the floor, covered in saliva. Amity wrinkled her nose in disgust, and drew a spell circle to toss it into the flames. Then, she placed her hands on Luz’s shoulders, whose breathing was fast and unsteady - still recovering from nearly choking to death.

“It’s okay, you can be honest with me. No judgement.”

Luz let out one last strained wheeze, and then deflated.

“Okay.” She raised her head tentatively. “I may or may not have conspired with Gus to burn your secret admirer letters.”

“What?! Wh- Why?” Amity was completely flabbergasted.

_ “Because she’s head over heels for you, idiot,”  _ Boscha thought to herself as she watched the scene unfold. She wished she had some Hex-mix to snack on as she watched the human stumble over her words. 

“Because I... kindamaybesortofhaveabigcrushonyou!” 

Amity blinked.

“Huh?”

Boscha wheezed, her eyes watering with unshed tears. This was the funniest shit she’d seen all week, way better than Bump getting pranked by the Blight twins on Monday. It was a scene straight out of a crystal ball drama.

“I...” Luz cleared her throat. “I like you. A lot. More than as a friend.”

“Oh.” 

Boscha watched with barely concealed amusement as Amity Blight, a normally calm, collected and disaffected witch, turned bloodrot red. She swore she saw steam hiss from the witch’s ears. 

“And I’m sorry I burned all your letters!” Luz bounced nervously on her feet as she rambled. “I saw Boscha burning the ones people got for Skara and couldn’t help myself. Heh.” 

Amity gaped at Luz, open mouthed. Luz tapped a finger anxiously against her leg.

“Uh, Amity?” She frowned, tilting her head in confusion. “You still there?”

The witch didn’t respond, still frozen in shock. Boscha snorted, suddenly glad she decided to stick around to see this disaster of a confession, but the laughter bubbling up in her throat completely fizzled out when she heard a new voice behind her.

“Bosch, is that true?”

Against every bone in her body screaming at her to do otherwise, Boscha turned around and faced her oldest friend.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have midterms this week (rip) so the final chapter will be up next week or so! Until then go read this incredible fic for skarscha content, underrated character interactions, action scenes, among other cool stuff [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28505871/chapters/69848904)
> 
> To see character icons of the Jubal kids click [here](https://twitter.com/godless_glasses/status/1366222913196744719?s=20)!
> 
> Skarscha Zine info: [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kreJHAjg7Igt9V5V0qS5UpuKjx-SongGUc6DFnOpbD8/edit?usp=sharing)!

**Author's Note:**

> Playlist for this series [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dIT9T5dkpuf3FBiD1idsu?si=IZHMI7COSqKgH3O7QF9czw). Story title based off of the song [Asleep](https://open.spotify.com/track/7LZgdL0MxiElfaKZbuuE4l?si=bcB1klaESQiD98o2fxUOAw) by The Smiths.
> 
> Check out my other toh works [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexa_Alycia/works). Follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/godless_glasses), [tumblr](https://lexa-alycia.tumblr.com), [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/godless.glasses/)


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